Road Work Worries Owners

BOCA RATON — A 10-month construction project on Yamato Road between Interstate 95 and Federal Highway that began July 1 could affect traffic and businesses as the work moves east.

One lane of the six-lane road in each direction will be closed on a 24-hour basis throughout the project, said Chuck Joyce, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation. Workers will repair a 300-foot section of a lane at a time and move on, starting at I-95 and moving east.

The $2.4 million project consists of repaving Yamato Road, replacing traffic lights with mast-arm models, replacing the street lights, adding bicycle lanes in each direction and improving the landscaping in the median. Construction is expected to be complete in the spring.

The mast-arm models, sturdy poles starting perpendicular to the ground and extending across the street, are better able to withstand storms than the traffic signals hanging from wires that stretch across the roads, Joyce said.

One of the owners of the Teeca Plaza Barbershop, Joyce Duffey, is concerned that the construction might hurt business.

"It hasn't affected us yet, but in a month I heard they are going to tear up our driveways," Duffey said. "The entrances will never both be closed simultaneously, but they said one will close off and on. That will hurt us, I'm sure. Any kind of construction could hinder our business."

"The ingress and egress of this center is lousy anyway, and closing one of the driveways will be bad," Weber said. "It will impede traffic. I have a dozen competitors in the area that could easily take business away from me if the traffic is bad."

But Weber remains optimistic.

"We'll see what will happen," Weber said. "I've been in retail for 25 years in different locations, and I have gone through this in every location. It's inevitable in Florida. You just hope you will survive it. I have made the proper preparations, so I don't think it will put me out of business."

The road project is ahead of schedule and it has remained under budget so far, according to Roxanne Riggs, the DOT project engineer.

"Right now we are working on removing existing sidewalks and rain gutters along the roads," Riggs said. "We have had partial lane closures, but two lanes remain open in each direction at all times."

Another construction project on Spanish River Boulevard extending from the El Rio Canal Bridge east to Dixie Highway is in the midst of completion, but the Yamato Road project should not cause increased slowdowns, according to Jim McGibbon, Community Asphalt construction operations manager.

Resurfacing of Yamato Road will not take place until after the Spanish River project is finished, which should be about mid-September, McGibbon said.

The Yamato lane closures have not caused congestion, said Esther Navin, owner of Lena Vista beauty salon in Teeca Plaza on Yamato Road. Navin said the construction has yet to affect business, and she doesn't think it will.

"We are a beauty salon," Navin said. "People will find their way here. It won't impact our business."

Part of the DOT's maintenance requirement is to assess roads and highways on an annual basis to see if repairs are necessary, Joyce said. Roads usually need repaving every 10 years, and this section of Yamato Road was due.

The addition of bicycle lanes is part of a citywide project to put bicycle lanes on all roads to create alternative modes of transportation, Riggs said.

Some residents, such as Louis Bardo, think the bicycle lanes are a bad idea because drivers on Yamato Road, especially near I-95, drive too fast. He said he doesn't think residents would take advantage of the lanes.

Yamato Road resident Stanley Taylor said the money could be used for better purposes.

"Normally I would think it was a good idea, but when you think about all of the schools and the school children in need of money, you think that the money is not being spent in the right place," Taylor said. "The government throws money around on nonsense when it could be used for more important things."

But resident Tony Marullo said it is about time the city began to pay attention to the area along Yamato Road.

"For a long time, this part of the city has been neglected," Marullo said. "I have grandchildren who ride bikes in the area, and the only lanes we have are sidewalks in the neighborhood. I think the repairs are a good idea, and people will definitely use the bike lanes."

Hillary Wasch can be reached at hwasch@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6631.